Jesus, football, hair and children: Tauaefa’s...

Taking pictures with children is typical for Josiah Tauaefa, UTSA’s star middle linebacker, who can’t be missed with his flowing locks of hair.

One encounter following last year’s Rice game made a lasting impression, though.

That’s when Tauaefa met 9-year-old Callie Rodriguez. Five months later, she featured him for a school project that raises awareness for child abuse.

“To meet a player that she really looks up to, she hasn’t experienced anything like that,” Misty Rodriguez, Callie’s mother, said on her daughter’s inspiration.

The project, Cardboard Kids, attracts attention to child abuse within Bexar County. Last year, there were 5,558 confirmed cases of child abuse within the area, and 10 percent of child sexual abuse cases never come to light, according to the website.

“That just means that hopefully I’m doing the right thing, as far as not just being a football player goes,” Tauaefa said.

At St. Luke Catholic School, Rodriguez and her classmates created 2-foot tall cardboard figures of whomever they wanted. The school is not alone in this endeavor, as caricatures can be found throughout San Antonio.

Tauaefa treated Callie just like a verse he can recite by heart — Matthew 18:3.

“Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth. You must change and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,’” Tauaefa recalled.

Danna Rollins, wife of UTSA’s defensive coordinator Jason Rollins, can be thanked for the connection. Rollins served as Rodriguez’s third grade teacher last year. She’s made many of her students Roadrunner fans and brought Callie to her first game in 2017.

That’s where she met Tauaefa.

“I had them go on the field to meet Josiah, and she loves Josiah. Loves him,” Rollins said.

My students are so creative! This made my day @josiahtauaefaThis let’s you know what a wonderful player you are! Cardboard Kid-Josiah Tauaefa! Birds up🤙🏽 continue to make us proud #55 Can’t wait for the spring game! Excellent player! Excellent student pic.twitter.com/42yOQE45hI

Rodriguez constructed a sign in support of the linebacker and called his name throughout the game. On one occasion, he turned, smiled and waved.

“She about melted in her chair,” her mother said.

Growing up in a Godly home, Tauaefa knew the church well. He said his family entrenched themselves into their local church, often attending twice a week. Everything changed once he moved nearly 270 miles southeast of Corinth, his hometown.

“Off to college, your faith kind of becomes your own instead of it being your parents’ faith,” Tauaefa said. “You’ve got to actively pursue. You’ve got to actively keep it up and keep exercising that faith. You’re on your own now.”

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What: UTSA Spring Game

When: 1 p.m., Saturday, doors open 11 a.m.

Where: Dub Farris Athletic Complex.

Tickets: Free, open to the public

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Tauaefa immediately impressed in college, amassing the most tackles (115) in UTSA history as a freshman. He garnered Freshman of the Year and first-team Conference USA recognition.

The linebacker spent last year plagued with a knee injury, playing in just seven games. The defense still recognizes him as the leader, although he doesn’t consider himself a rah-rah guy.

He’s open about it around teammates but hesitates to be completely transparent.

“Sometimes just showing them Jesus, showing them positivity and trying to do the right thing, that can speak louder than anything you can say to them,” Tauaefa said. “You might mention, ‘Hey, can I talk to them about Jesus?’ And they kind of shut down.”

The junior translates this reasoning toward his friendliness around children.

“This goes for anybody any age; you never know what somebody is going through,” Tauaefa said.

Callie’s mother had a feeling about Tauaefa after observing some of his positive social media posts: “He puts God at the center of everything,” Rodriguez said.

There’s a chance Tauaefa could miss Saturday’s spring game. In a recent practice, the linebacker’s left hand hyperextended on a routine tackle. However, he still participated in Wednesday’s practice and sported a club-like cast.

He’s expected to be 100 percent by summer workouts. The cast should be on for a couple weeks, the junior said.

Before his hand injury, Tauaefa entered spring camp healthy for the first time in months. He also saw his former position coach, Jason Rollins, earn a promotion to defensive coordinator.